The Rockets Getting Another Test Against The Nuggets

The Houston Rockets have taken care of business for the most part in their last stretch of games against weaker opponents. They took a few difficult to explain losses against the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz, but they mostly kept pace with the rest of the top teams in the Western Conference by winning six of their last eight games.

Houston is now preparing to take on one of the West's best teams as the team travels to take on the Denver Nuggets away from home in a rematch to avenge a late November loss.

This could be a good test for the Rockets to see where they have grown since their last matchup against the Nuggets. Alperen Sengun has kept up his elite play, and the offense has changed slightly to accomodate for more playmaking from Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard. That change has come with mixed results, but the Rockets are attempting to diversify their offense to keep elite defenses from keying in on Kevin Durant and Sengun.

The Nuggets did a good job of keeping up with Houston's offensive output in the last game, getting plenty of big shots from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The Rockets may get a boost defensively against Denver's top dogs with the return of Tari Eason to support Houston's perimeter defense.

The Rockets will also be looking to change things offensively this time against the Nuggets.

In their last head-to-head, Reed Sheppard took the lead for the Rockets, taking and making tough shots within the flow of the offense using his ability to control the ball. The team hasn't emphasized Sheppard's scoring as much in the following games, depending heavily on the performance of Durant, Sengun, and Thompson for much of their scoring.

The Rockets could benefit from leaning into Sheppard's scoring against the Nuggets, forcing one of Denver's perimeter players to have to guard against a legitimate threat offensively.

Houston put up a strong performance against the Nuggets offensively, but their defensive gameplan against Jokic may have to change if they hope to limit Denver's effectiveness. Teams generally have little hope to contain Jokic, but making his scoring more difficult or taking away his ability to pass is the only established method that can slow down the Nuggets from having an explosive offensive game, even against the Rockets elite rated defense.

The Rockets are facing a test on both sides of the ball, and it will take a strong effort to secure a victory against the team ahead of Houston in the standings.